Advocacy specialist Benjamin Marshan has left the Council of Australian Life Insurers (CALI) after less than a year, having joined in March from the Financial Planning Association of Australia (FPA).
Marshan previously worked at the FPA for seven years as the organisation’s general manager for policy and advocacy but left in March 2023 prior to the merger between the FPA and Association of Financial Advisers which took place in April 2023.
He then announced he would join CALI as director of policy and industry affairs and sit on the executive team.
CALI was set up in 2022 after 19 life insurers broke away from the Financial Services Council (FSC) to form their own association, with Christine Cupitt as its inaugural chief executive. It is co-chaired by Damien Mu, chief executive of AIA Australia, and Brett Clark, group chief executive of TAL.
This was prompted by the FSC making changes to its mandatory Life Insurance Code of Practice which included 50 additional consumer protections.
Writing on LinkedIn, Marshan said: “Last week I said goodbye to the life insurance industry and the Council of Australian Life Insurers. I very much enjoyed my time working with everyone in the industry and the achievements we made creating a new association, transferring across the Life Insurance Code of Practice, building engagement with the regulators and the Australian Financial Complaints Authority and the Life Code Compliance Committee, and setting up some great industry forums.
“Thanks to the CALI team for fun times we had and the collaborative working environment.
“And thanks to all the members – especially all of the LICOP working group for working with me and getting the code updated!”
A spokesperson for CALI confirmed Marshan’s exit and said it is in the process of recruiting for his replacement.
CALI’s priorities include upholding existing industry standards and practices, lifting consumer standards through professional standards and codes of conduct, informing Australians about the role and value of insurance and seeking opportunities to further contribute to the community, among others.
